Fuentes David. Figuring out melody

S.l., 2010. — XII, 304 p.A manual on composition and Counterpoint. A way of thinking about melodic figures and metric placement that is helpful in inventing and working out your own musical ideas, as well as hearing and performing others’ with clarity and insight.This book is based on three ideas:
that melodies are made of common groupings of notes – of «figures» – rather than individual notes;
that these figures sound and behave differently depending on their metric placement (where their first and last notes fall);
and that once you become aware of melodic figures and how they line up with beats, you will have deeper insight into the musical intentions of great composers, and will be able to incorporate many of their techniques into your own work.While these three ideas are not actually new, it’s rare to put much stock in them. But as soon as we do, it becomes possible to talk quite specifically about a whole slew of things that normally evade explanation. For example, «Why do we often get a clear sense of harmony from a single line of melody?» or, «What does it really mean to «develop» a melody?»
Rest assured that I have no intention of subverting existing wisdom on melody. Rather, I submit that by bolstering one’s understanding of many of the roles that melodic figuration plays, a person will come away with a sharper perception of both things we know, and things we take for granted.